Rotary engine.



No. 841,987; PATENTED JAN. 22, 1907. c. LBCAIME.

vNOTA-NN ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED APR.2T.1905.

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PATENTBD JAN. 22, 1907.

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ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27L 1905.

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CONSTANT LECAIME, 0F AMBARS,`FRANGE.

ROTARY ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 22, 1907.

Application filed April 27, 1905. Serial No. 25 '7.531-

To a/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, CONSTANT LECAIME, a citizen of the Republic ofFrance, and a resident of Ambars, France, have invented certain new anduseful improvements in Rotary Engines, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to an engine of continuous rotary movement whichmay be employed as a motor, a pump, or a ventilator. When employed as amotor, the engine is driven directly by any appropriate motivepower-such as steam, compressed air, or the like-while when used as apump or a ventilator it is driven by a separate motor, the pumpeffecting its suction-stroke in the opposite sense to its movement andits deliverystroke in the same sense.

This engine essentially comprises a cylinder which is closed at bothends by coverplates, a piston carrying two projections being inclosed bythe cylinder.

The accompanying drawings show by way of example an appropriateconstructional form of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side view thereof, and Fig. 2

a vertical section on the line A B in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the interior of the engine, one cover-platebeing taken off. Fig. 4 shows a detail for reversing the directionof theengine in vertical section, while Fig. 5 is a section on the line C D inFig. 4. Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the reversing mechanism connectedto the engine. Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken through theprojections of the piston. Fig. S is a section of the piston taken atright angles to the shaft.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, 1 is the cylinder, which is closedat both ends by plates 2, between which is disposed a piston 3, mountedon a shaft 4. In this piston 3 are provided four cavities 5, 6, 7, and8, of which one diametrically opposed pair communicates with theinlet-orifice 9, and the other diametrically opposed pair communicateswith the exhaust-orifice 10.

The piston 3 carries two projections 11 12,

on which the fiuid acts, these projections enabling the engine to berotated inone direction or the other. The space in which operates themotive fiuid is divided into three portions by the aid of three closingdevices, so as to constitute three cylinder-spaces, be-

ing separated from but upon the said closing devices being lifted by theprojections in communication with each other.

The closing devices consist each of a guide 13, carrying at one end twopivotally-mounted rollers 15, designed to overcome the friction at therotary movement of the piston and sliding at the other end in a groove14, provided in the body of the engine.

The closing devices are pressed against the piston by the influence ofsprings 16, encircling rods 17 and intervening between the ends of thegroove 14 and ofthe guide 13, so that the closing devices upon theircontact with the projections 11 and 12 may be easily lifted against thevaction of the springs. The piston 3 is provided with openingslS 19 2O 21at the base of the projections 11 and 12, respectively, which openingsserve to constitute a communication between the circular cylinder 1 andthe admission and exhaust orifices 9 and 10 through the cavities of thepiston.

Upon the steam being introduced through the orifice 9 it passes throughthe passageway 9a, Fig. 5, into the cavities 3 and 6 and flows fromthere into the cylinder through the orifices 1S and 20. It then abutsagainst the closing devices which form the base of the cylinder, and byits pressure forces the projection 11 to move in the direction of thearrow F, and consequently the projection 12 in the same direction. Assoon as the proj ection 12 has lifted the first closing devices withwhich it comes in contact the steam which is retained in the space 22escapes through the opening 21 of the projection 12 into the cavity 7and exhausts from there through the passage-way 10a into the orifice 10,and so on.

Assuming that the engine be now suddenly stopped in the position asindicated in Fig. 3 and that its direction be reversed, then the steamretained in the spaces 22 and 24 flows freely through the orifice 9 intaking the same way as it did when entering the cylinder, while thesteam being now introduced through the orifice 10, which formerly servedas the exhaust-orifice, passes through the passage-way 10a into thecavities 5 and 7 and fiows from there into the cylinder through theopenings 19 and 21, whereupon the projection 11 is moved from space 22to IOO space 24 and the projection 12 Jfrom space 24 to space23-that is,in the direction of the arrow F.

The admission of steam to the piston and from there to the circularcylinder being continuous, no dead-point occurs during the Working ofthe engine.

To constitute a double or even a triple expansion engine, one adjoins tothe engine one or more engines of larger dimensions, into which thehigh-pressure steam escaping from the first engine flows as low-pressuresteam.

For using the rotary engine as a pump or a ventilator the same hassimply to be driven by a separate motor. Its suction will be effected inthe opposite sense to its direction and its delivery of the liquid orthe air in the same sense, the closing devices in this case serving asvalves.

To obtain the reversing of the direction of the engine being employed asa motor, it is necessary to change the sense of introducing the steam orthe fluid under adopted pressure, which will be facilitated by employingthe apparatus which is represented in Figs. 4 and 5. v

This apparatus is connected to the orifices 9 and l0 of' the enginethrough the medium of pipes, and it is situated in any convenientdistance thereof. It comprises an outer cylinder with four openings 25,26, 27, and 28, and an inner cylinder fitted` therein with fouropenings, this cylinder being adapted. to be turned within the outercylinder by a lever 29 and forming a reversible passage-way for themotive fluid.

In the position shown in Fig. 4 the openings of the outer cylindercorrespond with two ofthe openings in the inner cylinder. The steamarriving from a generator at 25 passes through opening 27 and orifice 9into the engine and escapes through orifice l0 and openings 28 and 26.

In the position shown in Fig. 5 the openings of the inner cylinder arecovered by the walls of the outer cylincer, so that the fluid isprevented from passing through the apparatus, whereby the engine isstopped in due course. When the lever 29 Ais moved to the position 29a,the opening 30, communicating with 25, runs along the interior of theinner cylinder and terminates at 30a opposite to the opening 28. Thesteam passes from 25 to 28 and enters the engine at 10, which now turnsin the reverse sense. The steam leaves the engine at 9 and escapesthrough 27, 3l,

and 26. The two ways therefore cross each other in the Jform of an X inthe interior ofthe inner cylinder, the steam arriving always at 25 andescaping at 26.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of thissaid invention and what manner the same is to be performed, I declarethat what I claim isl. In a rotary engine the combination with acylinder having inlet and. exhaust chamber, of a piston rotatablymountedy in the cylinder and having uponA opposite faces concentricrings which engage the sides of the cylinder contiguous thereto,projections extending radially Jfrom the periphery of the piston to thesurrounding cylinder, interior chambers Jformed within the piston, portsconnecting the chambers of the piston with the registering peripheralcylinder-spaces, ports connecting opposite chambers of the piston withthe inlet-chamber of the cylinder, ports connecting the other opposedchambers of the piston with the exhaust-chamber of the cylinder andspring-pressed abutment-blocks supported by the cylinder and havingrollers which engagethe periphery of the piston.

2. A rotary piston comprising peripheral ring, side walls, a hub,projections extending radially outward from the ring, partitionsextending radially from the hub to the peripheral ring, ports extendingfrom the chambers formed by the partitions through the peripheral ring,ports extending from certain of the chambers formed by the partitionsthrough one side of the piston, and ports extending from the otherchambers through the other side of the piston.

3. A rotary piston comprising a peripheral I ring, a hub side wallshaving concentric rings projecting therefrom, outwardly-extending,

radial projections each composed of curved side plates and aconnecting-web, diametrically-opposed partitions extending radially fromthe hub to the peripheral ring and forming chambers within the piston,ports located at each side of the radial projections and exl tendingfrom the interior chambers through I the peripheral ring, portsextending from diametrically-opposed chambers through one side of thepiston and ports extending from the other diametrically-opposed chambersl through the other side ofthe piston.

l In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. l CONSTANT LECAIME.

l In presence ofl VICTOR TRIvoRT,

H. C. Coxn.

IOO

